


flowers blooming in the church

by orphan_account



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: (?), Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Coming of Age, Fluff, M/M, they’re the same age in this!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:27:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21687547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: hello! this is a little something i wrote based on the final fantasy vii song with the same name because i just thought it sounded cute(this has nothing to do with the game, though)you should listen to it if you haven’t before, it’s sweet :)
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	flowers blooming in the church

Dan and Phil met in church when they were eleven. They weren’t friends. They’d sing hymns and sit through prayers and sometimes Dan’s grandma would chat to Phil’s mum after a service while people ate biscuits and drank tea. Children didn’t drink tea. They’d eat biscuits and play tag among the flowers outside. Dan and Phil would sit on the grass and watch in silence instead.

Dan and Phil saw each other every Sunday for two years before they had a proper conversation. They’d sometimes talk, but not for long. When Phil’s mum would suggest Dan came over because they lived on the same street, both boys would shake their heads. Neither were interested in making friends at that point.

As they got older they’d talk more. Dan would rest against the stained glass windows while Phil ate both of the pair’s sugary post-service biscuits and chatted about the week he’d had. Dan just liked to listen to Phil speak a lot of the time. He said he had never really liked to speak in church. Phil said talking in church made him feel more comfortable. They agreed that they both feel out of place there, though. They called themselves ‘matching opposites.’ 

Every week after services when they were fourteen, they’d walk past the children playing tag and sit behind the church where nobody could see them. In winter Phil wore a scarf that he used as a barrier between them and the damp ground so they could still sit out of sight. When it was particularly cold they’d huddle together and talk in hushed voices over the icy breeze, their breath forming tiny fog clouds in front of them as they tried to keep as warm as possible. 

The same little church was abandoned shortly after Phil turned fifteen because of issues with the infrastructure. People started clearing out the inside and taking up the floor, but ended up leaving the job unfinished. The services moved to the church in the neighbouring village and Dan and Phil stopped going to said services every Sunday. Instead, they’d walk to the old church and sit behind it in the spring, trampling on wild snowdrops on their way to the place they’d always sat. Even when their meetups became more frequent, somehow almost every time they saw each other they’d end up sat behind the small abandoned church. 

One day in the spring of the following year, leading up to Dan’s sixteenth birthday, they discovered the door to the derelict but still so familiar place of worship was unlocked. They’d never thought to check before. Phil had whispered “It’s dangerous,” and Dan held out his hand to reassure him. The same day, sat below the stained glass windows with the sun shining through onto the spring flowers blooming through the fractured floor, Phil admitted that he’s gay. Dan squeezed his hand and as his eyes glossed over with tears, said “me too.” 

Dan went for a strictly ‘family only’ dinner on his birthday. As soon as he got back, about 10pm, he and Phil went to the neglected church again. The summer flowers had started to grow through the floor, ivy had gently began to sprawl up the walls and the building was barely lit by the moonlight peering through the oh so familiar stained glass. Phil suggested a birthday dance, and they slow-danced to nothing but the sound of the evening. A thousand more ‘happy birthday’ wishes were wished the same night, a thousand meaningful stares and a thousand almost-kisses. 

Over the years the church became less of a regular visit and more of a sanctuary of nostalgia. The flowers continued to bloom through the floor, gradually becoming overgrown with time. The last time they visited, Phil picked flowers and put petals in Dan’s curls, saying “He loves me, he loves me not,” with every petal he plucked, making sure every time he’d land on ‘he loves me,’ because he knew it was the truth.

The place was no longer swarmed with fear and potential, but with genuine love and hope. Memories were held in every flower.

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is a little something i wrote based on the final fantasy vii song with the same name because i just thought it sounded cute 
> 
> (this has nothing to do with the game, though) 
> 
> you should listen to it if you haven’t before, it’s sweet :)


End file.
